Scott Morrison’s daughters Abbey and Lily have been praised for the grace and resilience they showed growing up in the glare of their father’s job as Prime Minister of Australia.
Mr Morrison paid tribute to his family last night after conceding defeat to Labor’s Anthony Albanese.
Mr Morrison, a Christian who prays every day, said: ‘I still believe in miracles as I always have.
‘And the biggest miracles as I said three years ago were standing beside me and here they are again tonight with Jenny and my daughters. They are the greatest miracle in my life.’
Many of Scott Morrison’s supporters took to social media to express their gratitude for his time in office and well wishes for the family.
They also shared support for daughters Abbey and Lily, 11, who were often on the receiving end of vile online attacks and were targeted on Saturday night for what they wore during their father’s concession speech.
Thank you for leading Australia through one of the toughest times in our history. You and your family have sacrificed so much in the process,’ said one.
‘Enjoy spending more time with them. Best wishes.’
Another wrote: ‘They (Abbey and Lily) are beautiful young women…just shows the character of anyone who criticises them.’
”Morrison’s concession speech was excellent but shouldn’t have been necessary. His wife and daughters love him deeply and we will miss him greatly,’ commented a third user.
‘Never in the political history has a PM been so denigrated and vilified by the media and Australian people. Never have so many vile hashtags been created for Scott Morrison. Never before has the wife and children of a PM been so criticised and made a butt of jokes,’ a supporter added.
‘Thank you for leading Australia through one of the toughest times in our history. You and your family have sacrificed so much in the process. Enjoy spending more time with them. Best wishes.’
One person tweeted: ‘ Say what you like about Scott, but I think his wife and daughters are an indication that he can’t be anything like as objectionable a person as people on here make out.’
Others took issue with the criticisms Scott Morrison’s daughters received on Saturday night for the clothes they were dressed in.
His daughters looked lovely, so NO NEED to bring them into snide remarks about their dresses,’ said a supporter in response to a photo of Mr Morrison and his family after he conceded the election.
‘The girls are beautifully dressed, it’s a pity more young people didn’t dress as nicely,’ said one supporter in response to a photo of the Morrison family,’ replied another user.
One woman noted: ‘This is a beautiful family photo. They are lovely young girls beautifully dressed and obviously have loving parents. How cruel are people these days.’
The Morrison family has regularly been subjected to cruel online taunts, with attacks recently being made on a photo of Scott Morrison and his daughter Lily in the kitchen.
After posting a picture of them making a chicken and eggplant curry, the post was soon flooded with comments saying it was a publicity stunt and actually taken years earlier.
Mr Morrison regularly posts pictures of himself making Indian or Asian-inspired food in the industrial kitchen at Kirribilli House
While most of the comments on Mr Morrison’s Facebook page were attacking him rather than his daughter, some also aimed their barbs at Lily.
Other commenters took a potshot at how Mr Morrison and his wife Jenny’s daughters Lily and Abbey, 11, dressed in a recent family photo.
‘Seriously, who are these people? This is one step away from the Amish,’ a woman whose Twitter bio says she believes in ‘fairness’ wrote.